BAGHDAD , Iraq -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Half of Iraq 's registered voters turned out for peaceful provincial elections this weekend , the election commission said Sunday .

Residents of Iraq 's Ramadi province cast their votes this weekend during provincial elections .

The turnout of 7.5 million voters starkly contrasted with elections in 2005 , when the violence and intimidation of al Qaeda in Iraq kept voters away from the polls and only 2 percent of eligible voters participated .

Faraj al-Haidari , the head of the Independent High Electoral Commission , called the turnout this year `` very high '' for provincial elections in any country . Fifty-one percent of the 14.9 million registered voters cast ballots .

Al-Haidari called the weekend voting the `` most important elections in the history of Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein . ''

Voting was held in 14 of Iraq 's 18 provinces . The highest turnout -- 65 percent -- was in the Salaheddin province in northern Iraq , the commission said .

The lowest -- 40 percent -- was in Anbar , the Sunni heartland west of Baghdad . The sprawling desert area was dominated in 2005 by al Qaeda in Iraq .

Preliminary results from the electoral commission are expected within five days . Final numbers are due at the end of February .

CNN 's Arwa Damon , who toured polling stations with U.N. observers , said she noticed an increased sense of awareness and optimism among voters , who said they felt their participation would have an impact on their lives and country .

Political analysts said this election could correct some of the political imbalances that resulted from the 2005 election . Saturday 's voting also was seen as a referendum on the popularity of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki .

`` We are trying to build a new system of government in the heart of the Islamic Middle East , '' Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh told CNN .

`` The overwhelming majority of the people of Iraq are having a stake in this process , are buying into this democratic process . ''

Those elected will have regional power over the essentials Iraqis have been desperate for -- basic services and jobs , Damon reported .

Observers believe the provincial vote will be a gauge of the country 's political direction and an indication of how the parliamentary elections will turn out later this year .

The results should spell out the status of the Sunni Arab `` Awakening '' movement -- which opposes al Qaeda in Iraq -- and the popularity of the Shiite factions , such as those backing al-Maliki , Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr , and the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq .

Officials set up tough counter-terror measures for the election , including security rings around polling stations and vigorous searches of voters .

Despite the heightened security , three mortars exploded near a polling station in central Tikrit , about 100 miles -LRB- 160 kilometers -RRB- north of Baghdad , on Saturday morning , an official with the Interior Ministry told CNN . There were no casualties .

In another incident in Tikrit , police detained four people wearing Iraqi police uniforms who they said had thrown stun grenades at voters outside a polling center .

CNN 's Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report .

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51 percent turnout a sharp contrast to 2005 election , when only 2 percent voted

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Election commission chief : Most important election since Saddam Hussein fell

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The election was seen as a referendum on the popularity of Iraqi PM